Grow Your Own Teacher Education

The goal of the Grow Your Own Teacher Education (GYO) Initiative is to recruit and prepare parent and community leaders and paraeducators statewide to become effective teachers in hard‑to‑staff schools serving a substantial percentage of low-income students, and in hard‑to‑staff teaching positions in schools serving a substantial percentage of low-income students. The GYO Initiative is new to the IBHE. Prior to fiscal year 2011, the GYO Initiative was funded and administered by the Illinois State Board of Education.